Australian Grand Prix: full schedule and session timings

The Australian Grand Prix will kick off the 2025 season next weekend on March 14-16, and we’ve got all you need to know so you don’t miss a moment of the action.

The first round of the season will be held at the legendary Albert Park, which has been a staple circuit of the F1 championship since 1996.

Here, we’ve compiled all the times you’ll need to catch all the racing from the weekend. At the bottom of the story, you’ll find a complete grid of F1, F2 and F3 timings.

When will the F1 Australian GP take place?

Three practice sessions will take place over Friday and Saturday, but it’s unlikely we’ll get a sense of who’ll be in front until Qualifying. That said, it’s certain that all eyes will be on reigning Constructors’ Champion McLaren, who remained very secretive about their speed during pre-season testing.

Melbourne local Oscar Piastri will be a fan favourite among the Australian crowd, and his teammate Lando Norris will be hoping to better his result of third place from last year.

On top of that, we’ll see Lewis Hamilton make his highly-anticipated Ferrari debut, with an eighth world championship in his sights. He’ll be up against reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, who’ll no doubt be looking to replicate his 2024 success.

Carlos Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix last year, but despite his impressive performances in pre-season testing, it’s unlikely we’ll see him on the podium in a Williams race suit next weekend.

You’ll have to forget about a weekend lie-in, because the first practice session starts at 01:30 GMT on Friday, followed by FP2 at 05:00. Those early mornings continue throughout the weekend, with FP3 and Qualifying starting at 01:30 and 05:00 respectively on Saturday and lights out for the race at 04:00 on Sunday.

Formula 2

The 2025 F2 Championship will feature alongside F1 for 14 race weekends. Each round will comprise both a Feature race and a Sprint race.

Isack Hadjar was victorious in last year’s Feature Race, but his promotion up to F1 with VCARB has made way for another driver to take the trophy.

Veteran driver and former F3 champion Victor Martins will be one to watch, as well as American Jak Crawford, who had the most 2024 success out of all the drivers returning for this year.

The first F2 practice session will take place late on Thursday evening at 23:00, followed by Qualifying at 6:30 on Friday morning. The Sprint Race will start on Saturday with a reversed grid of the top 10 from Qualifying, at 03:15, and then the original order will be retained for the Feature Race at 00:30 on Sunday.

Formula 3

The 2025 F3 Championship will consist of 10 rounds this season and, like F2, each one will include a Feature Race and a Sprint Race.

Dino Beganovic claimed victory at last year’s Feature Race, but his promotion to F2 means that another driving will be looking to top the podium next weekend.

Reigning Constructors’ Champion Prema Racing will debut an all-new lineup after all their 2024 drivers graduated to F2.

The first F3 practice session of the season will start at 21:50 on Thursday night, followed by Qualifying at 03:00 Friday morning. Both races will take place on Saturday, with the Sprint Race taking place at 00:15 and the Feature Race at 22:00.

Full schedule